The fate of a San Jose bilingual charter school is on the line. The “Escuela Popular” school is fighting to keep its charter from being revoked by the East Side Union High School District, amid accusations it doesn’t meet the state’s new credentialling rules. The school says it does, and families of the school’s students are pleading for it to stay open. Aleli Ramirez has been teaching at Escuela Popular for six years. Her mother was once an adult student at the charter school. Ramirez says the bilingual charter school helps immigrant families, children and adults, and she takes pride that she helps students who often struggle in English-only schools. “When they get confidence in their learning, when they’re making progress and they know that they did it themselves. I’m not here to tell them how to do things I’m here to guide them through it,” Ramirez said. The East Side Union High School District put Escuela Popular on probation in October amid allegations that some of the teachers lacked proper credentials under new state guidelines. Thursday, the school will have to show the school board it has made enough progress to halt a vote that could move the school closer to closure. The principal and chief executive of the school, Patricia Reguerin, is confident they’ve done what they need to. “We had a period of time to refute and remediate any of those issues. And we did, a hundred percent of our teachers that are working in the classroom are properly credentialed,” Reguerin said. Community supporters include City Councilman Peter Ortiz. “I grow up in this area, I know and have loved ones who’ve gone to Escuela Popular and if the board‘s decision does continue to move forward based on what they vote on today a lot of people could be hurt,” Ortiz said. ...read more read less